Married with three children, Newton has a rich athletic background of his own. He attended Parker High School on Chicago’s South Side where he won 12 varsity letters. In 1947, he was named a High School All-American. Northwestern University was his next stop where he was an outstanding sprinter for four years. He received his B.S. Degree from Northwestern in 1951 and his M.A. Degree from Northwestern in 1952. He then entered the U.S. Army and for the next two years was Head Track Coach at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he coached three Olympic runners. He began his high school coaching career in 1954 at Waterman (IL) High School and he just completed his 60th at York Community High School in Elmhurst, IL. During his time at York, his Cross Country and Track Teams have won more than 2050 dual meets for a 98% winning mark.

At York, Coach Newton’s teams have won more than 300 Conference Championships in Track and Cross Country, including 23 Cross Country titles in a row from 1978 thru 2000. From 1960 through 2015, his Harrier Teams have won 28 State Championships; finished 2nd twelve times; 3rd four times; 4th five times; 5th twice; 6th once; 7th once; and 8th once. During his 55 year span, York has only finished less than 8th at State Championship Meet twice (in 1960 and 1963), years the team did not qualify for the State Meet. Newton’s Cross Country team at York has won 20 National Championships including the inaugural Nike National Team Cross Country Championship in 2004. Coach Newton’s teams qualified for the Nike National Meet every year for the first ten years of the meet’s existence (2004 – 2013). From 2002 through 2014, Coach Newton’s Harriers won 73 consecutive Varsity level Dual Meets. In Cross Country and Track, Coach Newton has coached more nearly 300 All-State Athletes and numerous individual State Champions. Coach Newton also coached the 2000 York team that won the Illinois State Track Championship.

More than 150 of Coach Newton’s athletes have gone to college on athletic scholarships worth more than $1 million: 11 have become All-Americans, 8 School Record Holders, 15 Team Captains, and 3 ran on National Championship Cross Country teams. One was Most Valuable Trackman at West Point and one graduated #1 in his class at the Naval Academy.

Coach Newton has authored four books, The Long Green Line; Motivation – The Name of the Game; Running To the Top of the Mountain; and Coaching Cross Country Successfully. He was Director of the Keebler International Track Meet for 25 years; National Chairman for the National High School Coaches Association from 1981-1987; was named Coach of the Year 22 times by the Northern Illinois Track Coaches Association; and named Coach of the year 20 times by the Illinois Coaches Association. Newton was the Director of the Annual Chicago MacGregor All Stars Track Clinic for 25 years.

Coach Newton has spoken and presented all over the world at hundreds of clinics, corporate events and association’ meetings throughout his career.